


thrashing the covers off, it has me by its teeth

by thorduna



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Injury, M/M, Nightmares, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-23
Updated: 2016-02-23
Packaged: 2018-05-22 21:45:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6095037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thorduna/pseuds/thorduna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Here he stands in the shadows, back flattened to a door that he has soundlessly opened and closed, and he watches unwelcome and unwanted as his brother writhes on the bed, caught in a web of nightmares.</i>
</p>
<p>Quick post Thor: Ragnarok/Infinity War (guess) ficlet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	thrashing the covers off, it has me by its teeth

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Florence & The Machine's _Ship to Wreck_.

He shouldn't be here.

 

It is not only a breach of privacy, it is also a dangerous play that could set fire to the unnatural calm that has enveloped the Asgardian palace; but then again, he suspects the latter is in large part what brought him here.

 

He is the crowned king of Asgard, protector of the Realms, and here he stands, in the shadows, back flattened to a door that he has soundlessly opened and closed, and he watches unwelcome and unwanted as his brother writhes on the bed, caught in a web of nightmares.

 

He has seen glimpses of this as he sat on the Hlidskjalf and they are what ultimately led him here; a call to see with his own eyes and perhaps, deep down, a call to step in, to _help_.

 

The help would not be welcome.

 

A low, panicked groan escapes Loki as he rolls to his side upon the mattress. Thor blinks, heart clenching, when the movement dislodges the soaked sheet that covers him and it slides down his hip, baring him almost completely to Thor's eyes.

 

_They fought terribly after Thor returned to Asgard, determined to discover the secrets of the Infinity gems, only to find his “Father” evasive and oddly sharp-eyed. Not that Odin had ever been less than that, but Thor could feel the difference as he could feel a change in the weather, clouds rolling in, thick and threatening._

 

Loki jerks, his head snapping to the side on his pillow and Thor curls his hands into fists, itching to step forward.

 

_Promptly, before any true damage could be done, they both were forced to face dangers worse than those they were to each other – a magnificent feat in itself – and found themselves on a heartbreaking, blood and sweat filled journey through the realms as their own realm was taken from them. “_ It is your realm, not mine _,” Loki sneered at him when Thor voiced this as they sat, pressed side by side, in a small cage._

 

Now Loki's face is full of open anguish. Thor has seen glimpses of these same horrors on his brother's expression many times, in the mind-spinning visions now granted to him as he sits on the throne. The reality now seems much worse.

 

_Thor wouldn't want to admit this to anyone, but despite the banishment, despite knowing that Asgard was ruled by the queen of Death herself, there was some allure in standing by Loki's side once again, in fighting their imminent, simple and visible enemies in a joint effort._

 

Thor takes a step forward just as Loki curls in on himself. His limbs are so pale they are barely visible on the damp sheets, but the coiled strength of his muscles can't be overlooked; every one of them is shaking from strain.

 

_Eventually they understood who the enemy was – Loki had known all along, which incensed Thor to no end, to learn that Loki was playing his own games and nursing his own pride when the entire universe was at stake and Thor could do with a little bit of an insight. But it was done and the battle was upon them._

 

He can't help it – he stands by the bed and looks down at his brother's thrashing body. The paleness is only interrupted by a deep red and purple splatter that goes from Loki's hip all the way down to the toes of his right leg.

 

_Thor fought as he had never fought before. The irony of it is that having his brother by his side, he found himself receding into old habits, into recklessness and battle-fury that wiped all reason away. Mjolnir was white-hot and singing in his hand, bursting with power._

 

He sits down on the bed, placing his hand on Loki's shoulder. The skin is cool but clammy with sweat and Loki quiets under his touch.

 

_Thanos' defences were strong, as was the Titan himself, his huge, purple face grinning smugly down at Thor, his lips promising a revenge for Loki's treachery. Those were the words that sent Thor over the edge – Loki owed no loyalty to this creature. He owed it to Thor. To Thor's_ love _._

 

Loki is still for a long while and then his eyes blink open ever so slowly. He stares into the darkness of the room and then, moving as though he is still in a dream, he turns to Thor.

 

_Thor exploded. The power tore through him, barely channelled by Mjolnir. He himself was a conduit, and a bad one at that, the power of storm bursting from every inch of his skin. His rage aimed it at Thanos, for the most part, shattering his defences and allowing his other allies to swoop in and strike him down with thousand and one blows._

 

The second his eyes meet Loki's, he knows that Loki is lucid. And this is the two of them now; Thor sitting on Loki's bed in the dark, waking him up from a nightmare that perhaps he didn't cause, but also didn't save him from.

 

_In the aftermath, Thor found Loki alive but wounded, his eyes boring into Thor with unknown intensity. His leg was ruined, burned severely by the electric current that Thor had so uncontrollably released, mindless of the partner on his left._

 

“My saviour,” Loki murmurs and it is like a bucket of ice overturned on top of Thor's head.

 

_Loki stayed in Asgard for all his recuperation. And then some. He was not charged with any crimes nor returned to the cells. He did not attend Thor's coronation either._

 

“Would it make a difference if I apologized?” Thor asks. The words like ash in his mouth; dry and useless.

 

“For what? Destroying the universe's worst enemy?” Loki says, the corner of his lips drawing up as though he has not just been woken from a terrible nightmare; quite likely about precisely that _enemy_.

 

“For the sacrifices I made in the process.”

 

“You didn't make any actual sacrifice, dear brother, you were simply reckless and unaware of your own strength, as you are wont to do.” Loki sits up, pushing his dripping hair away from his face. “It's my own fault for-”

 

He cuts off and shakes his head. _For remaining by your side_. Thor is almost certain that it is what Loki has meant to say. Not as unaffected by his dreams as Thor believed, then.

 

It makes something in him lift and float away through the darkened room.

 

“I shall open your windows, the air is thick, and then I will leave you.”

 

He does just that when no reply comes.

 

He is by the door-

 

“You were never here in the first place.”

 


End file.
